Memphis City Council postpones final action on code changes until July 17

About 40 people representing developers, commercial real estate firms, engineers, architects, a palmist/medium, a tattoo parlor -- even the National Civil Rights Museum -- have written letters to local government officials urging the Unified Development Code be changed to make developing easier.

Supporters of keeping the code intact to fight sprawl and promote denser, more walkable neighborhoods had not filed nearly as many letters by Tuesday.

But the City Council gave them more time to defend the 17-month-old zoning code.

The council on Tuesday passed the amendments proposed by Planning Director Josh Whitehead on the first of three required votes, but voted to delay the third and final vote by two weeks.

Scheduling the third reading on July 17 instead of July 3 will also give time for public meetings on the issue.

"My only concern is for the public to be heard," Councilman Myron Lowry said.

"It's the best we could get," June West said of the delay. She's executive director of Memphis Heritage, one of about 10 organizations that have collaborated in recent months to protect the spirit of the UDC.

Supporters of the current code just started sounding the alarm late last week when they could see Whitehead's proposed amendments and realized they went further than they anticipated.

Among the letter-writers supporting Whitehead's proposed changes are:

Michael Fahy for Prime Development Group: Called the UDC a "living document that must be updated and improved."

Richard A. Smith Jr. of Finard Properties, owner of Poplar Plaza Shopping Center: "... I believe amendments such as the deletion of the maximum ground floor square footage area to be appropriate."

Ron Belz of Belz Enterprises: Amendments "will be beneficial in helping to create a clearer roadmap for development ..."

Civil rights leader Maxine Smith: "A friend of mine pursued a new tenant in his commercial building on East Raines Road. He was informed ... that the new zoning code provided no relief, other than a long, six-month rezoning process, to allow a beauty parlor to locate in a structure that has been used for various office and retail uses for the past fifty years."

Attorney Charles Perkins for a client who has a palmist/medium business. His property "without notice, was down zoned such that he cannot continue to operate."

E. Scott Fleming of Fleming Associates Architects: Supports the changes to the UDC "so that it will apply in a logical way to the specific needs and situations found in our community."

Lesley Harding Binkley III of Boyle: "... We appreciate your commitment to the promise that was made to review the newly adopted UDC and adjust the language where appropriate."

John C. Reed of The Shopping Center Group: "... The new language seems to strike a practical balance..."

J. Wise Smith of Marketplace Development LLC, which has been developing a number of Family Dollar stores recently: Under the UDC, he said, "I ... have found the process to be somewhat cumbersome ..."

Among those opposing the proposed changes are:

Paul West of West Memorials on Broad, who stated he'd been informed the changes would allow tattoo shops on Broad. "My company is against a change in the code."

Architect Steve Auterman: He asked for a delay so the amendments can be refined. "The UDC is the 'recipe for making a city' and a few items need further review to ensure they aren't contrary to other ingredients. ..."